Illini need NCAA win, not just berth, for stamp of approval

It's not yet March, but the madness has already started for the Illinois basketball team.

The number crunching with the RPI, strength of schedule and bracketology appears to put the Illini in the NCAA field, if they earn a split this week to finish with a 9-9 record in the Big Ten Conference. Illinois (18-11 overall, 8-8 in the Big Ten) plays at No. 8 Purdue (24-5, 13-3) Tuesday (6 p.m., ESPN) before hosting Indiana for senior day on Saturday.

Q: What's the real goal here?

A: Getting to the NCAA Tournament doesn't qualify the season as a success. This year wasn't supposed to be about getting into the NCAAs. With virtually everyone back from a team that reached the NIT quarterfinals last season and signs over the summer that these seniors had finally decided to buckle down, the goals were much bigger than just getting an NCAA bid.

This season wouldn't get a stamp of approval without the first NCAA win since 2006. The Illini already made that a difficult chore even if they make it in the 68-team field.

They teased everyone in November and December, blowing past North Carolina and Gonzaga, but losses to Illinois-Chicago (No. 289 in the RPI) and Indiana (185) left the Illini's seed and RPI slipping. Admittedly, you can't win it if you're not in it.

From the indications -- a 38 in the RPI and a strength of schedule at 11 in one computer ranking -- puts Illinois in good shape to earn a berth with a split this week, although a win in the Big Ten Tournament wouldn't hurt. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi even slid Michigan into his NCAA bracket Sunday, perhaps giving the Illini some cushion.

The problem for the Illini comes with the seed. Projections put the Illini around a No. 9 or 10 heading into the weekend. That makes for a difficult first-round game and a big challenge to get that elusive NCAA win -- something that hasn't happened since Dee Brown and James Augustine were on campus. The Illini seniors haven't helped themselves but want to leave one lasting impression in March, when it matters most.

"You can't take nothing for granted,'' said Illini guard Demetri McCamey Saturday. "(Coach Bruce Weber) brought it up the beginning of the season about the legacy. It starts right here. Everybody forgets about what you did at the beginning of the season if you don't do nothing in March. We have to make our stamp and make our legacy right here in March.''

Q: Have the Illini learned a lesson from last year?

A: It's not over until Selection Sunday, and Weber already gave the Illini a warning after the loss at Michigan State.

Illinois senior forward Mike Davis admitted he's the resident bracketologist on the Illini roster. On Friday, Davis had the Illini as a No. 8 or 9 seed. Sounds like he's been reading Lunardi's work, then gave it a little polish. The projections don't bother Weber. It's Davis and the Illini reading them.

"The problem is they listen to stuff,'' Weber said. "We weren't in it last year. After played Ohio State, everybody had us in. Then all of a sudden, UTEP loses, Utah State loses. Now who is out? It came down to us, Minnesota, Virginia Tech. Us two (Illinois and Virginia Tech) went home.

"Learn from the past. That's why Purdue is so big. If you go get a game like that, it's another name on the resume builder, the RPI and everything.''

Q: What's the key to the game at Purdue?

A: Seniors JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore are great, but the Illini must find a way to slow jet-quick point guard Lewis Jackson, the former Decatur Eisenhower guard who had 10 points and five assists in the 81-70 win at Illinois on Feb. 13.

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